13 Nov Why Movement Matters

I recently attended a great seminar and certification that was a four day course on Human Movement. Four days looking at the importance of functional human movement. It was outstanding and one of the better courses I’ve ever attended. Human movement, the way we move, can provide a lot of information about appraising our fitness levels. Yes, indeed, if we don’t move well, on a fundamental basis, how can we be expected to perform well?

You may be thinking “What is he talking about” but stay with me for a few, this will all make sense in a minute. If a house has a weak foundation, how could it be expected to hold up when we upgrade it or build on a weak foundation? Sooner or later, that foundation will crack and that will yield a heap of trouble, you know what I mean? Well, our bodies are the same way. If we “load” our bodies with weights and performance training, without having a rock solid foundation, sooner or later, that foundation is going to crack. And do you know what that means? Injury. Do you follow me?

By looking at whole movement patterns, we can assess whether someone has a good, core foundation to perform well with a load or weighted exercise program. Just as an example, if you aren’t able to do a full body weight squat sufficiently, then how could you effectively train that pattern without fixing the deficiency first? By performing a simple series of baseline movements, the information from this series of tests can provide some very valuable information about what you should be avoiding with your exercise program, if you don’t have a proper baseline of movement. It’s really amazing and makes a lot of sense to me, especially having the Physical Therapy training background I have.

What does this mean for you? I think that if you are beginning your exercise program, you should consider the importance of movement in your training plan. Why? To strongly prevent the risk for injury. A simple Functional Movement Screen takes only about 10 minutes to complete and will be well worth your time. How do you do this? Well, the easiest way is to find an expert close to you at Functional Movement. This is something I’ll be doing with every one of the clients I work with now, to establish a proper baseline of movement, prior to training for performance. Ultimately, you’ll feel better and perform better, once any deficient patterns have been corrected.

Now, just because there is a deficient movement pattern, that doesn’t mean it’s over. It means the pattern must be corrected prior to the appropriate exercise load. You see, it’s very simple really. We screen your movement before we train your movement and if something isn’t quite right, we correct them with simple exercises first. Not a big deal, but training poor movement patterns only reinforces poor quality of movement which will ultimately lead to injury. Make sense? I hope so because this is some of the most important and potentially game changing information we may see in the area of physical fitness and performance.

For more comprehensive information on this subject matter, see the book Movement by Gray Cook. In closing, I thought this was an extremely important subject and something that will clearly separate an exceptional strength and conditioning specialist or trainer from the rest. Appraising movement must precede physical fitness and performance training for the best interest for you. Fundamental movement should be the first assessment prior to exercise training and progression to prevent any future problems, that being injury.

This article is just a simple introduction for you to consider how important your basic movement patterns are in relation to your physical training and fitness goals. And be on the lookout for more information to come in the future on this topic, for sure.

About Scott Iardella, MPT, CSCS, CISSN

With over 3 decades of unique experiences, Scott has an accomplished background as a coach and "former" physio. Scott's known as an unconventional strength coach, movement teacher, and performance specialist who gets results. Frustrated by the mainstream, you could say he's very passionate about doing what's right in the area of strength and performance training. Recognized for engineering powerful, no nonsense training programs that increase strength, build muscle, and enhance athleticism while taking a long-term approach to health, fitness, and athletic performance. A true professional who’s dedicated to helping people fulfill their potential through a foundation of strength and better human movement.
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